Work Text:
Lucia pulled her arms closer to her body, the cold air of late-night Berlin seeping into her porcelain flesh like a rabid dogs teeth into a piece of meat, her frame shuddering against the wind. The building, a gray box of concrete, stood in front of her. Raymond, Andy, and Jules were inside, trying to figure out the situation with where the van went. It should have been here by now- half an hour after the show ended and the band were stranded outside, unknowing of where their only way back to the hotel was.
Lucia glanced to her right and saw Sascha standing a few feet away, lighting up a cigarette. She huffed in envy at the bright, hot flame held in his hand, dancing over the white metal like a tiny ballerina.
I wish he would hold me like that.
Nope.
She pushed that thought away quick. He's your coworker, Lucia. Get it together.
Lucia swallowed the feeling creeping up her throat from her heart and stepped over to Sascha, avoiding the small pieces of glass probably left from roundy punks and metalheads from before them, picking fights with one another like a bunch of children. She held up her hands, palms up, at the lighter. Sascha moved it very carefully closer.
“It's fuckin’ freezing out here.” She mumbled, giving another shiver. Sascha just shrugged. She huffed through her nose. “Come on, you're not cold? Not even a little?”
Sascha tilted his head, contemplating the question like it was a philosophical debate.
“Nope.” Was all he said. For someone who made his life's work talking to the masses, he was a man of surprisingly few words. Lucia blew a raspberry through her cherry red lips. Much to her detest, Sascha flicked the lighter closed and tucked it back into his pocket, along with his pack. Lucia sighed and sat on the curb, head resting on her hands, bored out of her mind, still shivering like a wet dog left outside in the middle of winter.
Sascha’s head just barely tilted her way and a crooked grin tugged at the side of his lips. He sat next to her, stretching out his limbs, stiff from standing and fingers hurting from manning the sampler all night. Lucia was momentarily drawn out from her fuzzy static thoughts by the grungy yet so appealing smell of smok and nudged him, nodding at his cigarette.
“You mind?” She asked, eyes wide. She looked like a dog begging for treats. Sascha’s eyes were obscured by his sunglasses- still on despite the late hour. The man practically slept in the things. Still, even so, Lucia felt like an undiscovered type of bug under a microscope, being closely watched and inspected. If that was what it took for Sascha to look at her, then so be it. She blinked and flicked her eyes to the cigarette like she was silently asking again.
Without another word, Sascha took a deep drag, almost taunting in nature. Lucia huffed and smiled, opening her mouth to make some quip about not bragging- And then he leaned in, closing the distance between them, them smoke blowing into her mouth from his. For a moment, Lucia was completely stunned, head pulled between the smoke and the kiss, before she reacted on instinct, breathing the smoke in.
As quick as he moved in, Sascha drew back, looking away from her quickly. Lucia blinked, almost choking on the smoke. She coughed, still staring at him, wide-eyed. Sascha raised the cigarette once more and took another drag, still not looking at her, but she could still see the bright red color of his skin, cherry in nature. Lucia’s entire demeanor softened. Sascha Konietzko, blushing like a school boy over one kiss. It was adorable. She shuffled a bit closer, her hand coming to gently rest over his. He tensed for a minute, then rubbed one of his thumbs over hers. Lucia smiled, setting one elbow on her knee and a hand under her chin, looking the opposite direction from Sascha down the road, a content expression on her face.
---
Andy, Raymond, and Jules were inside, watching from the window. Raymond smiled and held out his hand towards Jules. He sighed, digging around in his pockets, slapping two 5 dollar bills on it.
“Damn.” He muttered, turning away. Raymond stretched, grinning that smug smile of his.
“Fuckin’ knew it.” He grinned, flipping through the bills before pocketing them. Andy tilted his head.
“... How long before they bang, do you recon?” He stepped away from the window, still leaning on it. Raymond put his hands behind his head, bracing his hair, leaning on the other side of the window.
“Give it a few nights. They'll be all over each other the first chance they get.” Both Jules and Andy chuckled at that. Jules walked over to the window and looked out at them, still sitting on the curb, Sascha smoking in the dim light while Lucia gazed dreamily down the road. His expression softened.
“I'm happy for ‘em.” He said, quieter now. Both Raymond and Andy turned to look at both of them in the window, expressions both softening.
“Yeah.” Raymond mumbled.
Sascha, as if sensing the eyes on the back of his head, turned around. All the men who had been staring grinned. Raymond gave a thumbs up and Jules gave a wave. If Sascha thought his cheeks were red before, they were burning now.
He turned back, dropping the cigarette and putting his head in his hand, groaning comically. Lucia looked over, head tilted.
“What's wrong?” She asked, turning her body toward him. Sascha sighed, quiet for a minute. Then, in a voice low as thunder:
“... They'll never shut the fuck up about this.”